


Chasing The Wolf

by EclecticKitten88



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-06-22 20:51:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15590475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EclecticKitten88/pseuds/EclecticKitten88
Summary: Girl In The Fireplace AU: -What would have happened if the Clockwork Droids kidnapped Rose when they went through to get Reinette? Will the Doctor notice? Will Rose be able to forgive the Doctor's careless behavior on their most dangerous adventure yet? How many monsters will the Doctor be willing to face to save her? Or will his Pink and Yellow human leave?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Doctor Who, but for those that are already members of Fanfiction and Whofic don't worry I'm still the same author. As for those who've never read it before. Enjoy.

Chasing The Wolf.  
A/N: I do not own Doctor Who. Sadly. I would have made it clear that Rose & the Doctor were together forever otherwise.

Prologue

She couldn't believe that she had been so stupid. When the Doctor had broken through the time window on Arthur the horse, Rose foolishly thought that he was there to save her as well as Madame De Pompadour. He hadn't even noticed she was there, not until the Clockwork Droids told him to make a choice.  
Rose or Reinette.  
That was when Rose knew she going to die. She couldn't really fully explain it to herself how she knew this, there was just something in the way the Doctor looked at Reinette through that wretched mirror. Then there was the way he had effectively dismissed Rose back to the spaceship to find that Clockwork Droid. Not to mention the way he behaved when Rose and Mickey were about to literally loose their heads, she had felt something was off between her and the Doctor from the moment she had met Sarah Jane, but it was hearing him talk about Reinette that really began to trouble her.  
What made it worse was the fact that, Rose also knew her death would have nothing to do with the fact, that Madam De Pompadour was the uncrowned Queen of France. But, in true Doctor style, he had found a way to save them both. But the damage was already done.  
Five hours later, after the Droids had been thoroughly destroyed. She now watched the Doctor as he danced with the woman who was nothing more than an expensive whore. He hadn't even come over to talk to Rose and see that she was okay. If anything, the second the droids shut down the Doctor seemed to have developed amnesia about Rose even being there.  
“For a man who hates domestic, he doesn't seem to be dragging his feet at the idea when it comes to her.” Rose thought to herself.  
Watching them sway and move around the dance floor, made Rose's heart break even more than she thought it could. He hasn't even looked at her once, not since he saved the day again. The memories of Jimmy's words were screaming in her head. How he would taunt her about never being anything but a play toy to a bloke. A play toy that would easily be thrown aside, once something better came along.  
“Something's are worth getting your heart broken for...” Sarah Jane's voice echoed in Rose's mind.  
Her eyes were beginning to sting with her tears as she watched her Doctor, and that woman exchange laughs and smiles, seemingly in their own little world. With her breaking heart, and feelings of worthlessness, a new emotion began to stir inside of her. Foolishness, Rose was starting to see now just how foolish she had been to think that the Doctor would ever want someone like her when he could have the likes of Sarah Jane, or Cleopatra, but of course the Doctor was friendly enough with the Queen of Egypt to call her Cleo. Rose couldn't take it any longer, she felt like she was going to physically smash into a million pieces if she had to watch another second. So, without another glance to the seemingly happy couple, Rose turned on her heel. Fleeing the packed ballroom, and the happy couple in the centre of it.  
~~~~~DW~~~~  
2007, Powell Estate  
When he stepped out of the TARDIS, the reality of the situation hit Mickey Smith hard. Rose was gone. He would never know how she lived the rest of her life. Mickey gulped, as he now had to tell Jackie that her daughter was gone, and didn't even know where Rose was buried. But he was gong to find out. He would find Rose's final resting place and do whatever it took to take Jackie there, so they could mourn together.

Though he was still angry with the Doctor, livid in fact. Mickey's mind went back to the last time he had spoken to the Time Lord.  
51st Century, Unknown Spaceship.  
At the sound of the TARDIS door opening, Mickey looked up, the feeling of hope quickly disappearing when he saw that Rose wasn't with the Doctor this time either. It was then that Mickey noticed the Doctor looking like someone who'd just been told Christmas had come early, that idiotic manic grin in place.  
“Mickey, be good chap and go find something useful to do. I'll be back in a second.” The Doctor told him causing Mickey to look at him with genuine shock.  
“Doctor?” Mickey spoke, his voice tense as he tried to control his rage.  
But was completely ignored as the Doctor began to press buttons, and that is when Mickey's heart seized up.  
“Oi! Where the HELL is Rose?” Mickey barked at the Doctor, his fear mixing into his anger.  
The Doctor's head snapped up, his eyes quickly widen in horror.  
“What? What do you mean? She's here in the TARDIS, isn't she?” The Doctor shot off questions in quick succession. His own hearts seizing in fear he hadn't felt since the Daleks had effectively held Rose captive.  
The fist came out of nowhere and the Doctor found himself hunched over the console.  
“OW!” Mickey and the Doctor both screamed at the same time.  
“NO! Didn't you notice that robot thing had...you didn't did? Getting your dick sucked by a French Whore was so important to you that didn't even notice that Rose had been kidnapped!” Mickey snarled at him.  
The Doctor staggered back feeling incredibly ill and rather faint. Rose had been kidnapped and he was so eager to try and protect himself from his feelings for her that he hadn't even....oh Rassolin...Mickey meanwhile now looked ready to be sick himself.  
“You...you don't even know if she's dead do you. Those robot things probably killed Rose the second they took her there and you don't even know....” Mickey gasped out in shock....  
The sound of a car horn jumped Mickey out of his memories, and he soon became horrified to learn that he was now standing at Jackie's front door. Fighting back the urge to cry, Mickey knocked on the door and waited. The door flew open to reveal one Jackie Tyler, and it broke Mickey's heart even more to see that she was smiling, he was about to break her heart.  
“Oh, Mickey. About time you showed up, come on. I'll get the kettle on.” Jackie cried happily as she opened the door wider to let him in.  
Had Mickey been paying the slightest bit of attention, he would have found her greeting a little strange. But he was too guilt ridden with the knowledge, that he was about to give Jackie the second worst news of her life. So, almost in a trance like state, Mickey entered the flat, closing the door softly behind him. But when Mickey walked into the living room, he found something that he wasn't expecting.  
“R...Rose? D...Doctor?” Mickey choked out with a mixture of shock and anger.  
Rose Tyler smiled at Mickey softly. “Hey Mickey,” Rose said simply, there was a strong hint of remorse in her voice.  
When Jackie Tyler came back into the living room, it was to watch Mickey hit the ground in a dead faint. Jackie's eyes locked on to the Doctor.  
“What you done now?” Jackie barked in anger.  
The Doctor felt himself pale, well, it seemed that his hope of not getting slapped by Jackie Tyler was a foolish one. The Doctor opened his mouth to start explaining, but he couldn't find the words to start. Luckily, Rose jumped in.  
“Mum, why don't we get Mickey more comfortable, yeah. Then when he wakes up, the Doctor and I will explain what's happened,” Rose said soothingly, as she got up from her seat next to the Doctor and went to help Mickey.  
Jackie, however, was now on a roll and was paying no attention to the unconscious man who was currently sprawled out on her floor.  
“How come your hair's brown again?” Jackie added, as though he had just noticed that her hair was different. Though the truth was that Jackie had been itching to ask a whole essay worth of questions.  
“Mum!” Rose exclaimed exasperated.  
“It's longer too, all the way down to the middle of your back it is! Why?” Jackie exclaimed.  
“Mum! I'm fully aware that my hair is different and we will explain, I promise. After Mickey comes too, though.” Rose said firmly.  
“You're even talking different now! What did you do to my Rose, Doctor?” Jackie demanded.  
“Mum! Please!” Rose begged this time.  
Jackie fell silent at the sound of her daughter speaking so firmly. It was at this moment, that Jackie's fear that something had happened to her daughter was confirmed. The Rose she had seen a mere two weeks ago was no more. This Rose was older, wiser, stronger and comfortable in her skin. Jackie nodded and proceeded to help her daughter make Mickey more comfortable. Afterwards the two of them sat back at the table, and silence fell over the flat. Jackie never noticed that Rose was sending a text under the table.  
Five minutes passed before Mickey finally came too, and the Doctor was convinced that it was the longest five minutes of his very long life. Especially when you have Jackie glaring at you, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor, of course. The Doctor had the feeling that it wouldn't be long before he was wishing that Mickey had remained unconscious.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for reading. Hope you enjoy the next chapter.

Chapter 1  
He had finally found her, after all of that searching and false leads, the Doctor had finally found his Rose and she was beautiful. The Doctor just stood there in the middle of the street and watched her as she shopped in the market, but the more he watched the more panic and fear took hold of him. For Rose Tyler looked ill, very ill in fact. Very ill and very weak, she looked as though a feather could knock her down, what was wrong with her? Had he caused this?  
“Rose...” the Doctor whispered painfully.

“MICKEY!” Rose's shout snapped the Doctor out of his thoughts, unfortunately though it wasn't enough to dodge the flying body that was coming at him.  
Remembering that Rose was sitting right next to him though, made the Doctor instinctively throw both himself and Mickey to the left. Once he knew Rose would be safe from harm, the Doctor allowed Mickey to punch him, a lot.  
“Mickey!! Stop it!” Both Rose and Jackie screamed at the same time.  
“You bastard!!” Mickey snarled as he continued to punch the Doctor.  
Despite the continued screams from the Tyler women, it looked like Mickey was determined to teach the Doctor a lesson. At the sound of Rose's pain and horror though, the Doctor decided enough was enough. But before he could even make a move to get Mickey off of him, Mickey disappeared.  
Leaning up on his elbows, the Doctor saw someone struggling with Mickey as Rose dropped to her knees.  
“Oh my God! Doctor, you said you'd let him hit you once, not beat you into mush! Why didn't you even try to defend yourself?” Rose cried in horror.  
The Doctor groaned as he was helped up into a sitting position, he would definitely need to go to the sick bay in the TARDIS. From the pain it felt like some of his ribs were cracked at the very least.  
“Because I deserve it, Rose. I dare say your Mum's gonna have a say about it too,” the Doctor told her softly.  
“Oh, Doctor,” Rose whispered.  
“Why? What you gone and done, Doctor?” Jackie demanded, this time she was going to get her answers.  
“He left me and Rose to die so he could bed some royal French tart!” Mickey yelled from the floor.  
“WHAT!” Jackie snarled.  
Before Jackie could dive at the Doctor, Rose put herself in between the two something that brought Jackie up short, as she didn't except Rose to go and defend the Doctor.  
“Rose! What are you doing? Why are you defending him?!” Jackie shot off in both anger and shock.  
“That's what I want to know, and could whoever has got me, LET GO! Mickey snapped.  
“I'm not defending him, I protecting him. There's a difference, I'm keeping you from doing something you'll regret, Mum,” Rose snapped back, but was clearly becoming more upset.  
As Rose was talking to Jackie, the person that was currently holding Mickey in a full body lock, snapped back at Mickey.  
“Hate to disappoint you, Mickey Mouse, but I'm not letting go of you until you calm down!” Captain Jack Harkness' voice snapped out.  
At Jacks voice, Mickey temporarily forgot about his anger towards the Doctor.  
“What are you even doing here?” Mickey exclaimed.  
“Oh, you know, the usual. Had a bit of trouble with the Rift, ended up meeting up with double trouble over there. Now will you stop!” Jack huffed back.  
Alas, in his attempts to break free, Mickey just ignored Jack's answer and turned his attention to Rose.  
“How can you protect him for what he's done, Rose? He left me on that spaceship for dead, and didn't even notice when them clockwork robots KIDNAPPED YOU!” Mickey shouted at Rose.  
“Kidnapped?!” Jackie said, now becoming rather distressed before a fresh wave of anger took hold of the protective mother.  
While Mickey was yelling at Rose, Jackie was yelling at the Doctor as he pulled himself up onto his feet. After a quick dust off, the Doctor looked at Rose to make sure she was okay, while completely ignoring an increasingly irate Jackie Tyler, but found tears were forming in Rose's eyes. Instinctively, the Doctor stood in front of Rose. Protecting her from the onslaught of angry words, a hard look forming on his face.  
Rose knew that when she and the Doctor met back up with Mickey, it would be hard. She even thought that she'd be prepared to hear Mickey shout about what had happened. But she wasn't prepared for it, she wasn't prepared for all those painful memories of what happened immediately after to come rushing forward as if they were only just unfolding. So, feeling like she was suffocating under the weight of it all coming back, Rose did the only thing she could think of and ran.  
“ROSE!” the Doctor shouted after her, his voice breaking at the end.  
Jackie's hands came to her mouth as she tried to stop a sob, why had her daughter run like that?  
The Doctor turned his attention back to the now frozen Mickey, his eyes harder than before. The Doctor's full height towering over Mickey, and Jack had to admit that it was a sight that made him afraid of the Doctor's wrath; and he hadn't even done anything!  
“Mickey! I know you're angry at me, but you have no right to speak to Rose like that. You have absolutely no idea what happened to her after that trip and even I only know bits and pieces. Yell at me all you like, hell you can punch me as many times as your stupid human heart desires but do not ever speak to Rose like that again!” the Doctor said in a hard and powerful voice.  
With that said, the Doctor rushed off after Rose, going to the one place he knew she would go to now. But it wasn't the TARDIS, at least not yet.  
Once the sound of the front door shutting echoed in the flat, Jack let Mickey out of the full body lock and quickly got to his feet. Jack wasn't about to give Mickey the chance to go after the Doctor, not now, not ever.  
“You just couldn't give them the chance to tell you both what the hell is going on here, could you. You,” Jack said pointing angrily at Mickey, “Had to attack the Doctor. In front of Rose no less, then you just had to yell at Rose like she was some idiot child. Like the Doctor said there's more to this than you both know, and if you want to find out, then you'll just have to keep your anger at the Doctor under control.” Jack growled at Mickey and Jackie, he knew Rose would probably be angry with him for yelling at them. But right now he just didn't care.  
Mickey huffed and just stood there, while Jackie sat herself back down at the dinning table. As an awkward silence came over the flat once more, while Jack stood in front of the door, he still wasn't trusting Mickey to not charge after the Doctor.  
“Good thing Rosie texted and told me to get down here,” Jack thought to himself. “I just hope they come back before Mickey Mouse tries to run after the Doctor.  
On the roof of the Powell Estate, Rose was looking out to the city below. While the Doctor stood behind her, not sure as to what she would want him to do. Hug her, or just do what he was doing, standing behind her. Lettering Rose know he was there, that he wasn't ever leaving her like he foolishly did before.  
“Rose?” the Doctor whispered softly.  
“I knew, I knew Mickey would be angry and we'd have need to explain everything that happened after going through the time window. But to just...assume that I'd,” Rose started saying, but trailer off as the tears continued to fall.  
“He believed that you would have just forgiven me for what I did. Mickey the Idiot seems to be a good name for him now,” The Doctor finished. He couldn't deny that he was angry at that. Mickey was supposed to be Rose's childhood friend, her ex-boyfriend, he was supposed to know Rose better than anyone, other than Jackie. But apparently that meant nothing, especially if he could just go and accuse Rose of letting the Doctor off without making him suffer. Okay, so maybe neither one of them actually said the words. But Rose and the Doctor knew that it was there, buried in the words.  
The Doctor looked out to the city of London. He knew that no matter how much he would rather just grab Rose's hand and run back to the TARDIS. Maybe call Jack down for some ridiculous reason, and the three of them fly off into the stars. He knew that Rose needed to tell her Mum and Mickey what had happened.  
“She's my Mum, she needs to know, Doctor. Not to mention, Mickey, he deserves an explanation too.” Rose's words from a past conversation echoed in his mind.  
“Then, let's go back down and tell them that you haven't,” the Doctor said, unable to keep the pain he was feeling out of his voice.  
Rose spun round to look at the Doctor, shock and confusion on her face.  
“What are you talking about? Of course I've forgiven you,” Rose told him firmly.  
The Doctor's pained face softened slightly.  
“I broke your trust, Rose. Nobody fully forgives the person responsible for that, not really,” the Doctor replied, his voice sounded like he was being chocked. “But I'm still going to do whatever it takes to earn it all back...” the Doctor finished, cupping her face in his hands before Rose practically launched herself at him, hugging him tightly.  
The Doctor wrapped his arms around her, never wanting to let go. Oh, he had been such an idiot when he'd went through that time window. Not even noticing until he got back that the droids had kidnapped the one person that means more to him than anything in the universe, even more than his TARDIS. Which, he hoped, the TARDIS wouldn't shock him for.  
The two stayed like that for what could have been an eternity. But it was only a minute, 60 seconds that felt like forever for the Doctor and Rose. Eventually they parted, sadness and painful memories still playing on their faces.  
“You sure you want to go back in arms length of my Mum? I mean, Mickey's done a good job on you and everything but my Mum? She'll more than likely make you regenerate,” Rose said, she tried to make her voice sound light and teasing.  
The Doctor gulped at the thought.  
“Do I want to go back into your mother's den, no. But we need to. Like you said, they need to know what has happened,” the Doctor replied.  
Fingers interlocked, the two of them headed back to the flat. Both of them wondering how Jack was doing with Mickey and Jackie.  
Just as they approached the door that would lead them back inside the Doctor stopped causing Rose to turn and look at him. Without a sound the Doctor tugged on her hand until she was in his personal space and kissed Rose as if it would be the last kiss they would ever share. Given what Jackie Tyler might do to him once the whole horrid tale had been told, it might well be.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for reading.

Chapter 2  
When the front door of the flat opened, Jack was torn between relief and apprehension. After all, Mickey was still itching to have another round with the Doctor. Who, hand in hand with Rose, entered the living room and cautiously sat down on the sofa. the Doctor's eyes fixed on something that only he could see.  
“If you want to hear what happened after I sent you and the TARDIS here, Mickey, then you're going to have to sit down and keep your temper. It's going to be hard enough as it is, for Rose especially. and wondering if you're going to attack me again is only going to draw it out,” The Doctor said, his voice sounding void of all emotion.  
Mickey stood still for a moment before finally sitting down in a chair at the dining table.  
“Alright then, lets hear it.” Mickey demanded.  
“Well, I suppose for Jackie's sake, we best start from when the three of us arrived on the space ship in the 51st century...” The Doctor began and told Jackie all about what had happened on their 'adventure'.  
Though he had heard it before, Jack still found himself becoming angry at the Doctor. When the Doctor got to the point where he returned to the TARDIS, without Rose, Jackie interrupted.  
“You mean to tell me, you left my daughter in France of all bleeding places,” Jackie growled.  
The Doctor, Lord help him, actually shrank back in his seat. Rose, who was sitting to his right, grabbed his hand and held it tightly.  
“Maybe it's time for me to take over,” Rose suggested softly.  
The Doctor's only response was to squeeze her hand.  
Rose took a deep breath to calm herself down, before launching into her tale.  
France, 1760  
“You're nothing more than a toy, Rose!” Jimmy screamed in her face, as Rose tried to back away from him. She began to look frantically round for the Doctor, but she saw Cassandra instead.  
“You're a Chav, darling. A Chav who has a bouncy castle for a body. is it really such a surprise that the Doctor would leave you for someone of higher social status?” Cassandra sneered cruelly.  
Next it was Mickey, he didn't look angry, just sad. “I told yah, Rose. He's just like every other bloke.” Mickey then disappeared. and Rose saw the Doctor with a pregnant Reinette, his arms wrapped around her and that smile she loved so much on his face.  
Rose shot up in the bed, tears streaming down her face. Her hands clutched at her chest, her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest, like it was once again, shattering into a million pieces. It had been a month now since she had last seen the Doctor or Mickey. Rose didn't dare try to work out how long it had been since she saw her Mum.  
The chimes of the abbey bells rung out into the early morning. Though she was not a nun, Rose was helping out around the abbey in exchange for food and board. Which was a fair request, well, more than fair really. But the heartbroken woman loathed that the nuns all seemed to marvel, and rave about Madame De Pompadour. It had been thirty three years since Rose had walked out of the Palace of Versailles with a broken heart and still she couldn't away from that tart. With a smirk, Rose found herself wondering more than once how these celibate women would react if they knew what kind of woman their precious 'Uncrowned Queen of France' really was.  
“Stop it, Rose. He was never yours in the first place,” Rose scolded herself. But despite this, every time Rose thought about the Doctor, she thought of him as hers.  
“I could save the world but loose you...” Her Doctor's strong northern pained voice echoed in her voice.  
The Doctor she met, all leather jacket and dark. He was her Doctor. When he spoke those words, she never doubted for a second that he loved her, or at least cared for her. Especially when it sounded like the decision he faced was ripping his hearts out.  
So how could the man whom now calls himself the Doctor, be so different? At the beginning, nothing was different. A part of Rose found herself often thinking, that it was as though the regeneration hadn't happened at all. But, now. It felt as though he was a complete stranger, not the Doctor.  
Knock, knock  
“Breakfast is almost ready, Mademoiselle Rose,” The reverend Mother's voice spoke sharply.  
“Thank you, Reverend Mother,” Rose said softly, in response, but the Reverend Mother's footsteps had already started to moving down the hall.  
The Reverend Mother was the one to find Rose the night she left the Doctor with Reinette. At first the woman had been very hard faced. Not to mention down right scandalised by Rose's clothes. But all that changed when Rose looked at her with her tear drenched face. The old woman's face seemed to melt quicker than butter being cut through with a hot knife.  
It wasn't until much later that Rose realised her heartbroken expression had truly struck a cord with the Reverend Mother. It seemed that the Reverend Mother knew the pain of having the man you love not reciprocate your feelings, which is why Rose was told she could stay for as long as she liked. But today was another day and she had chores to do. So, as she tried to gain composure, Rose climbed out of her bed and started getting ready for the day.  
Her days were all the same now. get up at the crack of dawn, eat breakfast and then go to whomever she was instructed by the Reverend Mother to go and assist. Sometimes that meant she would be going to into the nearby village, and help those less fortunate than those at the church, which above all would make Rose's blood boil. This village didn't seem to be all that far from the Palace of Versailles and as naïve as it may sound, surely it was the King's responsibility to help his people? Especially when they were clearly suffering so much. Instead he would just throw parties and gorge his own weight with food and wine before retiring to the bed chambers of his wife or her.  
For Rose, the days soon blurred, and if it hadn't been for the very obvious fact that this wasn't her time, Rose could almost believe that this is where she had been for her whole life. Almost.  
Before she knew it, Rose was attending midnight mass to bring in the year 1764, not that she was particularly religious. But, Rose knew better than to go admitting such things to a convent full of Catholic nuns, especially when there was a good chance they'd burn her at the stake for it. So there she sat quietly in the back pew.  
She was approaching four years now since arriving, the longest she had been anywhere after Rose came to the horrid truth. She didn't know what it was but for some reason Rose found that she didn't seem to be ageing probably. Rose hadn't been the one to notice however, it was the landlord of a pub in the village just near Versailles, she had been there for ten years when he had suddenly wanted to know what her secret was for staying so young. It had been an innocent question made in jest but that question had sent horror through Rose's soul.  
“Now, we shall sing hymn 23,” the Priest said to the congregation.  
Typically there was the movement of people grabbing hymn books, and that is when it happened. Rose's left hand grabbed the book, not noticing a loose nail just on under the woodwork of pew in front. A sharp sting shot through her hand. Biting her lip to keep herself from crying out in the middle of the service, Rose quickly drew her hand back. Forgetting all about the hymn she was supposed to be singing. Rose looked at her hand, and felt her eyes widen in horror as she saw a gold light appear around the cut and just like that the cut and the blood vanished.  
Oh, God!” Rose thought. This was why then. This was Rose hadn't been ageing the way she was supposed to, it had nothing to do with being in the Time Vortex or the TARDIS some how slowing down the ageing process. It was this and this wasn't good! The last time she had seen something like that gold mist, was when the Doctor had regenerated. But wait...surely that meant it was the Time Vortex and the TARDIS. Yes....yes it was those things, it was because Rose had Mickey open up the heart of the TARDIS so she could save her Doctor from dying. When the singing started to ring through the church, Rose quickly stood up and merely murmured through the whole song. For Rose, the rest of the service went by in a blur. All she could think about was how she was going to do now. Rose knew they would definitely burn her or maybe even drown her .  
“Okay Rose,” she thought to herself as she very carefully glanced around the room as everybody sat back down. “nobody looks to have seen you, so there's no reason to run for my life. But better leave first thing in the morning all the same.” she thought. Finding it very difficult to keep herself calm.  
For the rest of the service, Rose remained silent and still as the graveyard outside. Terrified that if she so much as breathed too loudly, someone would realise that she is no longer normal. She didn't even want to think about what that could mean for her. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, the church began to empty. But Rose remained rooted to her spot. As now she couldn't afford to go bumping into someone. One wrong move, just one, and the life she had managed to build for herself over the last four years would be all over.  
For the first time since she arrived in 18th century France, just like she had done when she first arrived, Rose was walking along the corridors in a dream like state. There was a difference however as this time while her body seemed to walk dreamily along the corridors her mind was a jumbled mess of panic.  
When she finally reached her room, Rose sat down on the bed and allowed the panic to grab hold of her. At least until something inside of her snapped and made her remember the danger she was in by remaining at the convent. She jumped to her feet and started packing the little belongings she had.  
As she was packing her things, Rose couldn't stop herself from wishing that the Doctor was with her. He'd know what to do. This wish brought Rose up short, and a dark chuckle escaped her lips.  
“Yet, despite everything, I'm still in love with him. God I'm pathetic,” Rose thought to herself angrily.  
Rose forced thoughts of the Doctor out of her mind, this was hardly the time or the place to be thinking about things that got her angry when her life was in danger. It took less time than she had anticipated packing up her things. But took time to search every inch of her room to make sure there was nothing left behind, that had no business being anywhere but with her. By 2am, and cursing the heaviness of convent doors, Rose left the convent and began her walk to the second closest village.  
Right now, Rose had no plan of any kind, well, except for getting a room at an inn. There she would plan her next move, for Rose Tyler could no longer afford to just make it up as she went along. Not when you're in the 18th century, and gold mist healing your wounds.  
All Rose Tyler knew for certain was this. She had to get out of France, fast.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading

Chapter 3  
Somewhere in the middle of space, 51st Century spaceship  
Oh she was brilliant that Reinette, getting her fireplace transported to Versailles and as a result allowing him to get back to Rose and the idiot. As he went to the TARDIS he wondered what star Reinette would pick out for her first trip, whatever she picked it was bound to be just as brilliant. Entering the TARDIS the Doctor saw only the idiot standing there, oh well, the Doctor guessed that Rose was doing her usually cup of tea fix for one and all after an adventure.  
“Mickey, be good chap and go find something useful to do. I'll be back in a second.” The Doctor told him not noticing the look of horrified shock on his new companion's face.  
“Doctor?” Mickey spoke, his voice tense as he tried to control his rage.  
But the Doctor completely ignored as he began to press buttons and wondering where he would be taking Reinette first.  
“Oi! Where the HELL is Rose?” Mickey barked at the Doctor, causing the Doctor's head to snap up sharply.  
“What? What do you mean? She's here in the TARDIS, isn't she?” The Doctor shot off questions in quick succession. His own hearts seizing in fear he hadn't felt since the Daleks had effectively held Rose captive.  
The fist came out of nowhere and the Doctor found himself hunched over the console.  
“OW!” Mickey and the Doctor both screamed at the same time.  
“NO! Didn't you notice that robot thing had...you didn't did you? Getting your dick sucked by a French Whore was so important to you that didn't even notice that Rose had been kidnapped!” Mickey snarled at him.  
The Doctor staggered back feeling incredibly ill and rather faint. Rose had been kidnapped and he was so eager to try and protect himself from his feelings for her that he hadn't even....oh Rassolin...Mickey meanwhile now looked ready to be sick himself.  
“You...you don't even know if she's dead do you. Those robot things probably killed Rose the second they took her there and you don't even know....” Mickey gasped out in shock....  
“No!” The Doctor whispered in horror. “No, no, no, no, no....what....no that isn't...” The Doctor rambled out panicked until the TARDIS decided to put her two cents in and sent a rather vicious bolt of electrical current at the Doctor.  
The Doctor launched himself at the controls and started looking for signs of Rose throughout 18th century France by using the key he had given her as a GPS.  
“Mickey you idiot! This says that Rose is just outside.” The Doctor snarled and headed towards the doors but Mickey was faster. He would gladly suffer the fool for the rest of his life if it meant Rose had somehow gotten back but whatever the Doctor had said, Mickey knew what he saw. Rose had been kidnapped.  
The two of them stumbled out of the TARDIS and began to look around.  
“Rose!” They both yelled together but their call was met with silence.  
“I don't understand this, the TARDIS says that she's here.” The Doctor muttered as he ran a hand through his hair.  
Mickey was searching everything, the chairs, the controls and the spot where Rose had been taken and then he found it. The reason why the Doctor thought, why he himself had believed, that Rose was back on the spaceship.  
“D...Doctor...it's not Rose....” He chocked out as he straightened up to stare at the Doctor. His hand in a fist, Mickey walked over to the Doctor and opened his hand.  
“It's her TARDIS key...” Mickey gasped in despair.  
France  
April, 1764  
There have been many times during the Doctor's long life where he had arrived too late, and every time the Doctor had felt positively wretched when he learned that fact. His reasons for being late now however, well, it was selfish idiocy pure and simple. That and the fact that he was trying to defy the impossible by using his sonic screwdriver to track Rose's energy and the search had left the Doctor feeling completely void of any emotions, and was still refusing to admit the reason why he felt that way.  
He had managed to track Rose from the nearest village of Versailles to the second nearest, and the Doctor was relieved to find that Rose's energy was stronger here at the convent. He found out from the Mother Superior that Rose had left abruptly at some point on New Year's Day 1764 before anyone else had woken up. Which is how he came to be sitting in what had once been Rose's bedroom. As he stared around the room that Rose had once called home, the Doctor caught himself expecting Rose to just appear out of nowhere.  
But to his chagrin, she didn't appear.  
“Why her?” Rose's voice suddenly came to his mind, and startled him for a brief second.  
Of all the things to remember why would he recall Rose asking that question?  
He was just about to get off of the bed and leave when something caught his attention. When he would think about it later the Doctor would find himself wondering if he had imagine the gold mist that swirled just above Rose's old pillow, but for now it didn't even seem to register with the Doctor.  
Frowning slightly the Doctor turned to his right, pulling his spectacles out of his inner jacket pocket and putting them on as he went. Leaning across the bed, the Doctor squinted as his fingers traced the outer rim of the engraving. It didn't take him long to recognize the outer rim of the pattern. Yet when his brain began to process the facts – especially the fact that it was on Rose's wall – the Doctor's breath caught in his throat while his hearts seized.  
“What...How?” the Doctor uttered as his fingers frantically gripped the pillow and threw it carelessly aside.  
The Doctor shot off of the bed and all but slammed into the opposite wall, his back rigid as he stared at the wall, for there in the weathered stone of the bare room was engraved one word.  
Doctor  
"Rose," the Doctor chocked out before hurrying back over to the inscription and with a feather light touch he began to trace the engraving with his fingers. The Doctor was astounded to find that Rose had not only engraved his self picked name into the wall, but that she had engraved it in his native language. A language that the TARDIS never translated for anyone.  
How could Rose know what his name looked like in Gallifreyan? He had never told her, the only other way she could know was if the TARDIS told her. But then there is the question of why the TARDIS would tell Rose. Or was there something else at play here? Had Rose decided to try and learn his language without telling him?  
But then another possibility came to mind, and it was one that gripped the Doctor's very soul with fear.  
Bad Wolf.  
The Doctor shook his head quickly dismissing the idea, there was no way that Bad Wolf had anything to do with this... Right?  
No! Impossible, Bad Wolf was gone. There had to be other ways that Rose would know how to write his name in Gallifreyan, he just couldn't think of any others right now.  
Truthfully, the Doctor had no idea how Rose knew how to spell out his name in Gallifreyan and it scared him. The Doctor knew he needed to find Rose, and he needed to find her quickly. Not only because he ached to see her again, but he needed answers that only she could provide.  
France  
April 1766, Somewhere near Paris  
He knew it wouldn't be easy to find Rose. But the Doctor had at least hoped he would have learned something...Anything to tell him where Rose might have been, and where she would be going. For Rose's lingering energy seemed be getting fainter and fainter with each passing day. How old was she now? It had been...oh Rassolin...thirty-six years for Rose now which would put her in her fifties. His hearts sank with the realisation that she was most likely married by now. Married with children and grandchildren. No. That didn't matter, he was going to find her and take her home to Jackie, he'd even take her husband, children, grandchildren with to the 21st century. Yes, at the very least she deserved to live what was left of her life, and her family's lives, in the comforts of modern day England. Get her a nice big house with an impressive garden for Rose's grandchildren to run around and play in. So he would search, sadly the search in this village had once again proven to be not as productive. Everybody he had spoken to had neither seen her nor spoken with her in passing. It was as if Rose Tyler had vanished. Lost to time as some might say which sent a chill down the Doctor's spine.  
His blood turned stone cold as another terrifying thought crossed his brain, if nobody had seen Rose than maybe it meant that she was...  
“NO!” the Doctor thought to himself viciously, he would not think that. Oh, why did she have to leave the Palace?  
Rose was alive. She was alive and he just wasn't looking hard enough for her.  
Yes, that was it. The Doctor just needed to double his efforts, and if he had to, the Doctor would go back to the Convent where he knew for a fact that Rose had stayed and start all over again. But from now on, the Doctor was going to search everything: every home, barn, church, he would search every tree, cave and anything and everything where Rose could find shelter even if only for a night.  
He didn't care how long it took, the Doctor vowed to find Rose Tyler.  
“Even if all I end up finding is her grave...” the Doctor thought and it was a thought that made the Doctor feel like he was enduring a thousand regenerations at once.  
Paris  
September 1766  
When you are a Time Lord there is one thing you are unquestionably very good at and that is knowing how much time had passed. But for the Doctor, time was no longer relative. Oh sure, he had spent the last several months searching for Rose, but that wasn't extremely relevant to his thought process in that moment. The only thing that mattered to him was finding Rose. However, despite his determination, the Doctor still found himself in situations where he had to once again stop some alien incursion bent on taking Earth for their nefarious plans.  
It just wasn't fun any more. In fact he could barely recall any of it. Well, perhaps with the exception of people running, screaming and dying; which was eventually followed by the sounds of the aliens in question either surrendering to the Doctor's offer or dying themselves. Then lastly there were the relieved thanks of the people he saved. But with every alien he met and subsequently stopped, the Doctor only had one thought running through his mind.  
“Rose would have loved this.” He would think.  
There were even times where the Doctor would catch himself turning to talk to her, it was starting to drive him mad. He knew that. Well, madder than he already was.  
“...she was an angel. Saved my youngest son from loosing his hand, the fault of course was and shall always be mine. Had I not been recovering from the fever there would have been no need for my youngest to do what he did. It was wrong, he knew that true enough. Yet this complete stranger saved him in so many ways. Paid for what he took and even got the owner of the shop to give my boy a job,” a man's voice broke through the Doctor's thoughts.  
The man's words seemed to have jogged the Doctor's memory, he was sitting at a table at an inn with a goblet of wine in front of him. Not that the Doctor had been drinking it of course, he had been too lost in his thoughts.  
The Doctor found a melancholic smile come to his lips, that was the sort of thing Rose would have done.  
“And she refused an offer of repayment for the food she paid for. I insisted that I had to repay her in some way, but still she refused until that is my wife told her I make wood carvings. She asked me to make the strangest of things.” He continued “Though I must confess myself rather proud of my work, these items were the smallest wood carvings I've ever achieved” He added with a prideful after thought.  
Despite himself, the Doctor was now very interested in hearing what the man was saying. The Doctor got to his feet, goblet of wine in hand, and walked over to the bar where the story was being told.  
“What did she ask for Francis?” The bar maid asked him.  
“Well, the first thing was not strange by any means, asked for a wolf she did,” the man now known as Francis said.  
CLANG!  
The goblet of wine slipped from the Doctor's hand and hit the floor, the clanging sound brought the inn to a stand still. Francis and his audience turned to look at him in shock.  
“This woman...did she ask for a box?” The Doctor asked him.  
Francis looked at him in surprise.  
“She did, yes. Wanted to know if I had any blue paint too, unfortunately I do not have that paint in my possession but she was not too troubled about it. Said she would get it painted another time,” Francis finished before adding “do you know her?” he asked eagerly.  
The Doctor had to keep himself from running at the wood carver as he closed the distance between them hope now filing his hearts for the first time in months, he frantically pulled out a sketch he made of Rose, he remembered to age Rose accordingly, though it was a guess as to what she would look like now and showed it to Francis.  
“Is this her?” the Doctor asked, he felt his hearts racing and his body now felt the same hope that rested in his hearts.  
“No, the woman whom helped my son was younger. Is this her mother by any chance?” Francis asked.  
“Younger?” The Doctor repeated, that wasn't possible. Rose would be in her fifties by now how could she look young? Pulling out another piece of paper the Doctor drew another sketch, exactly how he remembered Rose and showed the second drawing to Francis.  
Francis looked at the second sketch before his eyes widened with excitement.  
“Yes, that is the Lady that saved my young Leo, hair is longer but there is no mistaking her. Where is she?” Francis asked eagerly as he looked around, believing that he was now being given another chance to repay his debt to the mysterious woman. At the man's question, the Doctor felt the life drain out of him – feeling as if the room were spinning beneath his feet.  
The Doctor lost his balance and two men - whom had come up behind him out of curiosity - grabbed the Doctor his arms to keep him from hitting the ground.  
“I...I don't know. I lost her...” the Doctor choked out.  
Francis and his audience now looked at a loss as to what to do for the now obviously crushed man before them.  
The Doctor had went back into his own mind as he tried to wrap his mind around what he had just learned. Rose had been here, in Paris, she had been in Paris and saved a young boy from facing an unknown punishment. Saved him and hadn't aged a single day...that meant...Bad Wolf had most definitely done something to Rose. So wrapped up in his mind with fear and grief that had slowly been growing with each passing day, the Doctor didn't notice that Francis was telling the two men holding the Doctor up that he would be staying with Francis and his family. If the Doctor had his senses, he would have thanked Francis for his kindness, but right now all he could think about was Rose had spoken to this man.  
Spoken to him, saved his little boy and most importantly hadn't aged a single day. Oh, Rose....she must be so afraid right now.  
Thanks to a new customer entering the inn, the cold autumn night air hit the Doctor's face and snapped him out of his daze. Allowing for a very important question to come rushing to the surface.  
“How long ago has it been? Since you saw Rose?” the Doctor asked, now back under his own steam.  
Francis turned to look at the Doctor.  
“Is that her name? Rose, suits her, I am sorry to have tell you this but it has been 7 months now since she saved my Leo,” Francis told him sadly.  
Seven months...  
If Rose had been here seven months ago, the Doctor couldn't stop the small flame of hope that erupted in his hearts. Perhaps it wouldn't be so impossible to find her after all. But why wasn't she ageing?  
Outside walking along the quiet village street the Doctor was going over everything that he had just learned in his mind. Rose had been living in the past now for a few decades by now and yet, if Francis was to be taken at his word, she hadn't aged. Not a single day.  
“I bring life...” Rose's voice echoed in his mind when she was Bad Wolf and suddenly it dawned on him. That was why she survived for so long...Bad Wolf had somehow extended Rose's life cycle phenomenally. But why hadn't he sensed it? He sensed the wrongness of one Jack Harkness, then again the Doctor had always thought that there was something wrong with Jack Harkness. He was getting off track again because the fact of the matter was, Rose's life would now go on for only the universe knew how long. The Doctor ran a hand over his face as a sinking, horrible feeling came over him. Rose was probably terrified, she was out here in this world of the past all alone and it was entirely his fault.  
His crimes towards one Rose Tyler just kept growing and growing.


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you are enjoying the story.

Chapter 4  
England, 1769  
It was yet another glorious spring day and people were going about their business, not that Rose noticed as she walked down one of the cobbled streets. No, Rose's mind was drenched with thoughts.  
She had been back in England for the last four years now and still the relief hadn't worn off. Okay, so it wasn't 21st century England, but at least she was back in her home country. In the same country where her mum lived, even if there was a couple hundred years separating them. The only thing that hurt was knowing she wouldn't be able to stay here for much longer. Maybe she would move up to Scotland or go to Wales maybe even both for four years a piece and then head off back to mainland Europe for a while. Rose would have to be careful, she didn't want to get dragged into Napoleon's war after all.  
"If the Doctor was here, he'd tell me exactly when it started," Rose thought to herself before promptly stopping cold in her tracks.  
She had done it again. Oh sure, it was hardly the first time that Rose had thought about the Doctor, but it didn't matter really. No matter how much time will pass, or how frequently she will have a thought about the Doctor; Rose knew that there would always be this feeling of being punched in the gut.  
As Rose remained frozen on the spot, others passing by looked at her with concern. However no one bothered to stop and ask if she was alright. Not even when Rose's eyes begin to sting with the onset of tears.  
Why? Why was the universe so cruel? It had been so many years now and still the Doctor plagued her thoughts. Sometimes it was like today: just a passing thought. But then there were days where he was all she thought about all day. Then when she would close her eyes to sleep, there he was. Nightmares of seeing the Doctor being with Reinette were few and far in between now. Instead she would have nightmares revolving around the Doctor dying on some distant planet with an unknown companion beside him, declaring his love for said companion with his dying breath.  
Then there was the dreams of her Doctor: all leather jacket and serious. If anything, these dreams were the worst. Whenever Rose would dream of her Doctor, he would be standing there with a sad and remorseful look on his face. And when Rose would try and hug him, they would suddenly be at two ends of the same corridor; and no matter how hard she ran, the Doctor would just get farther and farther away.  
"Miss...?" A man's voice suddenly echoed in Rose's head, snapping her out of the painful trance she had threw herself in.  
"Miss?" he repeated, this time with a hint of urgency in his voice.  
Rose shook her head a little, and blinked a few times in quick succession so as to clear away her tears. When she raised her head, Rose's breath caught in her throat. Oh, this was not fair at all! Rose lamented internally as striking blue eyes gazed at her in pure concern. This stranger had his eyes, and to add to the mounting pile of painful reminders, the man was looking at her just like the Doctor had.  
"What's wrong?" he asked her gently.  
Clearing her throat and straightening herself a little, Rose looked at the man and forced herself to speak. "N-nothing. All is well," Rose replied. Feeling like a complete fraud talking in old English.  
The stranger's brow frowned as he clearly didn't believe her. "Forgive me, but if all was well then you wouldn't be crying," he replied softly.  
Rose looked at the strange gentleman in front of her a bit more closely, and found that not only did this man's eyes remind Rose of the her Doctor, but so did his outfit. Okay, so he wasn't wearing a leather jacket. But not only did his attire look a little out of place to her, Rose considered how it looked to her as though he had seen too much of the world. In truth, his appearance reminded her of Brendan Fraser's character from the movie The Mummy.  
As she continued to stare at this strange man, Rose suddenly remembered that she had to get to the tavern where she was employed as a bar maid. Not the most glamorous of jobs. But how was a girl, who was on her own with no family to support her going to survive in 18th century England.  
"My apologies, Sir, but I must take my leave. Excuse me," Rose said. Despite having been in the 18th century for the last ten years, she still found it difficult to speak the correct dialect for the time period.  
Rose quickly stepped around the curious man and hurried off down the cobbled street. As she reached the corner, Rose couldn't help but glance back at him. She felt her cheeks grow warm as she caught him still staring at her. Rose gave him another small smile before turning and hurrying on her way. With any luck, she wouldn't be too late for her shift.  
If Rose assumed she'd never see the strange man whom so painfully reminded her of the Doctor she was wrong. In fact: time itself was busy making arrangements for their paths to cross again.  
DW  
If there was anything that Rose really hated about this century it was the disgusting treatment of women. Rose seethed as she recalled the manner in which her employer commanded her to work tonight. As if she was a dog to sit and fetch at his pleasure.  
"Probably thinks that I am," Rose thought to herself. "But then again," the devil on her shoulder taunted, "was the Doctor any different?" Her gut lurched violently before Rose swallowed her anger down.  
Why couldn't her heart just let him go? After all, it's not like she ever really had a chance with him. No...Enough was enough. She would not allow that...Imposter to break her heart any more, nor would she permit herself to spend another moment grieving a man who obviously didn't care where she was. Rose would mourn her Doctor, the Doctor with the daft face and leather jacket. He was the one that cared about her, and Rose would sometime lie in her bed; dreaming about how her Doctor would have made her employer cower in terror while smiling that manic smile of his.  
Yes, that was what Rose would do from now on. So, with a quiet sigh to herself, Rose continued her task of refilling tankards belonging to her employer's thirsty and grabby male patrons.  
She was providing a sixth round of mead for a table of patrons when the door opened. Not that she ever really paid much attention to who came and went. Of course, when the cliché hush came over the tavern, Rose couldn't help but look over and felt herself go rigid.  
It was him. The man who reminded her of the Doctor, he was here and in the midst of walking over to the bar.  
What was he doing here? Why was he here?  
It was the growing noise of patrons resuming their chatter that snapped Rose out of her own staring. And with a mental shake made it clear to herself that she would do her utmost to avoid that strange man. She was done with me, human or otherwise. She was not going to let her heart get broken again.  
"Yes," Rose thought to herself as she went into the back room. "This woman was not going to make the same mistake for a third time," Rose told herself firmly.  
But of course, Rose should have known better.  
Meanwhile, somewhere near Calais, at the exact same time...  
The Doctor had just stopped yet another potential alien invasion, and was ignoring the celebration party that was happening around him. In the small community the Doctor found himself in, the people thought that the alien was some kind of demon, and he wasn't about to dissuade them of that. Can't have the human race know about aliens before their time after all – would be disastrous.  
Suddenly the Doctor became aware that he was missing some memories, confusion coloured his features, but the party goers didn't seem to notice.  
Before the Doctor was able to make sense of why he suddenly felt like he was missing memories, two memories quickly hit him in quick succession.  
He was his 8th self and he was walking down a cobbled street in London. Minding his own business when he noticed that other people had stopped and were staring at someone just ahead of him.  
He saw a brown haired woman whom looked completely dazed, tears threatening to fall down her young beautiful face.  
The Doctor felt his hearts seize in recognition as the next memory took over.  
He paid not attention to the sign above the tavern he was entering, he knew that this was where the strange woman worked. After some persuasion for the TARDIS to stop being so stubborn, he was able to track her down. The moment the Doctor entered the tavern, the noise died out instantly. And though he didn't look directly towards her, the Doctor knew that she was watching him.  
The Doctor silently made his way over to the bar as the chatter began to start up again. Once he was seated, the Doctor watched the mysterious woman walk into the back room.  
The Doctor staggered back in shock and uttered one word.  
"Rose!"


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in the updates, a new one will be posted later today

Chapter 5  
It couldn't be possible! However, the more the Doctor obsessed over it, the more he knew that it was.  
He had the memories to prove it after all.  
As the Doctor began to go over those two memories like a song stuck on repeat, he tried to force other memories to return. An attempt that was failing, for the most part anyway. He could remember the feeling that there was something wrong with her being where she was. It just never occurred to his past self that the mysteries woman was out of her time line.  
“Is it possible I took her back to her proper time?” the Doctor uttered to himself as he paced in frustration.  
His hands tugged at his hair as he chided his brain to think faster. With only those two memories surrounding Rose in a tavern to go on, the Doctor knew there wasn't any time to waste. He needed to get back to England.  
Calais, France, 1769  
With a huff the bar tender went and set about sorting out his order, allowing the Doctor to return to observing the mystery woman. The problem was, she was nowhere to be seen.  
If there was one thing the Doctor loathed more than domestics, it was travelling without the TARDIS. It took him two months. Two months it took him to reach a French Port. Two! Why? Because France was plagued with aliens who all wanted Earth for themselves. 5 solo take over plots, 8 declarations of war between rival species with Earth and the global enslavement of humans as the prize. Now he was here at the docks though, the Doctor refused to think about how long it was going to take to cross the English Channel. It probably won't take longer than a couple of hours. A few days tops if the weather is bad, but without the TARDIS, it felt like a ridiculously long time.  
Bouncing on the balls of his feet, the Doctor saw his window of opportunity. As quietly as he could manage, he sneaked past the baby-faced crew members who were more interested in the prostitutes standing around the dock.  
After talking his way into one of the sleeping cabins, the Doctor found his way to the deck and looked out in the direction of England. Despite the peaceful look of the Channel, the Doctor found himself feeling agitated about his impending travel by sea, the Doctor decided to return to the docks for a little while. After some time walking up and down the length of the dock, fatigue began to set in. With a sigh, he eased himself into one of the few chairs that dotted the area. He leaned forward, his head in his hands as he tried not to think of the huge gamble that he was taking. What if Rose decided to return to France to track him down?  
“Excuse me, would you mind if I take this seat?” A man to the Doctor's left asked.  
The Doctor didn't even look up before answering.  
“Not at all.” the Doctor replied.  
Even though he could see the man sitting down next to him out of the corner of his eye, the Doctor paid the man no mind.  
“Woman or work?” the man beside him suddenly asked.  
“Sorry?” the Doctor replied rather shocked by the question and only just now turning to look at the man sitting next to him.  
The man sitting next to the Doctor turned to look at him and smiled.  
“There's only two reasons why a man looks so miserable, work or a woman, so which is it for you?” the man replied.  
The Doctor looked at the man beside him more carefully, there was something about him that the Doctor couldn't quite put his finger on.  
“Rose would know,” the Doctor thought to himself and then suddenly found his hearts seizing up.  
This seemed to answer the strange man's question.  
“Ah, woman trouble. Word of advice, when you get home to her, fall onto your knees and beg,” the unknown man told him firmly before clapping him on the back.  
“Why would that work?” the Doctor asked.  
“These humans make no sense sometimes,” the Doctor thought to himself “especially this one.”  
The still nameless man raised his left hand to show a wedding band.  
“Been married for 3 years now and the one thing that has helped me is this. The husband is always wrong, even when he is right, he's wrong. Especially when it comes to my wife and her best friend, those two can argue with the best of them, luckily for me and my best friend, our wives never argue with each other. That day ever comes it will be the end of life as we know it,” the man began to ramble off with a smile as he spoke.  
The Doctor couldn't stop the feeling of envy that swelled within him, oh how he wanted that with Rose.  
“Wait, what? Where did that come from?” the Doctor thought to himself.  
The Doctor stared off into space for a few minutes before he receives a slap on the back as the man gets to his feet.  
“Well, that's enough rest for me. Best go find the Mrs' before she worries, good luck to you, Doctor.” The man said before taking his leave.  
“Bye,” the Doctor replied numbly, before suddenly realising that he hadn't introduced himself to the stranger “wait. What?” The Doctor exclaimed before jumping to his feet and instantly began to scan the docks only to find that the man had disappeared.  
That had to have been one of the strangest conversations the Doctor had ever experienced and that was saying something.  
It was with his head still full of thoughts about the stranger's words that the Doctor boarded a ship that was to take him back to England. Fortunately, once the Doctor returned to England his mind would be back on the more important task of finding Rose, not knowing that as this version of the Doctor is searching for her, his 8th self knew exactly where Rose was.  
DW  
England, 1769  
Inside the TARDIS, the eighth Doctor was staring at one of his screens with frustration on his face.  
He had requested the TARDIS to perform a search for the tearful young lady he came across earlier that day. However, his ship had other plans and was showing him where the latest alien activity had occurred. Which was on the docks. A patron at the local pub reported seeing a 'demon' coming out of the water before promptly passing out.  
Sadly, the patron had become so obsessed with what he had witnessed that his family became convinced their loved one had finally lost his mind, and had him committed to Bethlem, or Bedlam as it's more commonly known. It was there the Doctor went to speak with the patron, but thanks to certain 'treatment' methods, the patron was in no condition to remember his own name let alone tell the Doctor anything useful or relevant.  
“Why do you keep showing me this place? There was only one witness that came from that pub. All the others were sailors,” the Doctor huffed in annoyance.  
The TARDIS merely replied with sending a few sparks at him.  
“Oi!, Alright, alright. I get the message, I'm going!” the Doctor replied in exasperation as he quickly headed out the TARDIS.  
If the Doctor had thought his TARDIS was persistent with the sparks, stepping outside to find that the TARDIS was now in the alley next to the local pub in question had him thinking she was downright obsessed.  
“Why are you so obsessed with this pub all of a sudden?” the Doctor thought to himself.  
With a mental sigh and a shake of his head, the Doctor headed into the pub. When he entered the pub, he suddenly found himself wondering if maybe he had entered one of those romantic comedies that many 21st century women loved so much, as his entrance was met with silence. Trying to resist the urge to roll his eyes, the Doctor looked around in hopes of a seat before feeling his hearts seize with joy.  
She was here....His mystery girl was here, working in the pub!  
As he moved towards a seat, the Doctor felt like his body had been turned into lead as he effectively walked away from her. The Doctor also found himself growing concerned that he may well be turning into some kind of stalker, after all he didn't even know the young woman he saw earlier that day and yet he was obsessing over her.  
The Doctor could only hope that the rest of the Time Lords didn't find out about this, they would probably banish him again. Only this time from Earth.  
“What ya' want?” the bar tender barked at the Doctor.  
The Doctor, whom until this point had kept his eyes fixed on the strange and beautiful young woman, turned to look at the bar tender. The man was a typical 18th Century lower class man, poor hygiene and black teeth, or the few teeth he had were.  
“Mead please,” the Doctor replied politely.  
With a huff the bar tender went and set about sorting out his order, allowing the Doctor to return to observing the mystery woman.  
Only to find, much to his horror, she was nowhere to be seen.


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update as promised, hope you are still enjoying

Chapter 06  
Southampton, 1769.  
“Finally!” The tenth Doctor thought to himself as he left the ship.  
He had never been so relieved to get off a ship in his life, which was a first because he had never reacted this way to sea travel in the past. Why, if it wasn't for his superior Time Lord physiology, he probably would have spent the whole journey throwing up. Okay, so maybe he threw up once...alright then, five times. Regardless of how often he honked over the side of the ship, he was certain that if he had been human he would have left the ship on a stretcher.  
“Best not tell Rose that I threw up, because she'll never let me here the end of it.” The Doctor thought to himself as he habitually looked around to make sure she was close behind. Didn't want to lose her again.  
The thought caused him to stop in his tracks when reality kicked in.  
There was no telling Rose right now, or checking to see if she was close by, because he had no idea where she was. Okay, that wasn't entirely true, his eighth self was with her right now. Well...Possibly with her right now. He really hoped that was the case. Either way, the memories of his former self being where it was were locked away in the deepest parts of his Time Lord mind, and despite hours of his best efforts, he couldn't make the memories play out in their entirety.  
Which was why the alarming memory of Rose standing on the cobbled street with silent tears streaming down her face came rushing back to the forefront of his mind. It made his hearts ache to see his pink and yellow human so sad, but there was also anger mixing in with his anguish. Anger towards whatever stupid ape hurt his Rose so badly.  
Ooh, there was a phrase he hadn't thought of in a while. But still, why had she been crying in the middle of the street? Rose very rarely cried in private, so to have her cry in public was so very unlike her. Well, she had cried in public a few times; but never for herself. Instead, it was always for some poor suffering soul that she couldn't help or comfort.  
“Oi! Move it!” a rude dock worker barked as he barged past the Doctor.  
The Doctor staggered out of the way glaring at the man in anger. “Rude,” he muttered under his breath before cringing.  
'Rude' had everything become Rose's catchphrase for this version of him? A memory that made him miss her all that much more. Especially when she had smiled at him in her oh so adorable manner while doing so.  
As the Doctor walked towards the main street, he tried to think of exactly where Rose could be. The more he racked his brain for additional memories, the horrifying thought of never finding her presented itself to him kept popping up.  
No! He had to stop thinking like that. He had to be positive.  
Deciding to focus on the facts, the Doctor thought back to the tavern were Rose had worked. He knew that his eighth self knew the name of the tavern, but like almost everything else surrounding his run in with Rose, the name was evading him. So the Doctor thought back to how the tavern looked along with what was in the immediate vicinity. But the more he scanned the more his hearts seized with a very ugly realisation.  
There wasn't a single inch of these docks that looked anything like the memories that were available to him.  
“Brilliant,” he huffed under his breath.  
The Doctor was forced to admit that he did in fact arrive at a very different port from his eighth self. A fact that did very little to improve his mood.  
Oh, why couldn't his stupid brain unlock more memories? He needed to find Rose!  
“Why?” the voice of his ninth self suddenly demanded harshly from inside his mind.  
“What?” the tenth Doctor double blinked as he shook his head. Was he really having a mental conversation with his past self?  
“Yes, you are, but never mind that. I want to know what gives you the right to find Rose?” Nine demanded.  
The tenth Doctor was well and truly amazed. He was actually having a mental conversation with his previous self! But why his ninth self? Why couldn't his eighth self pop in instead? That would so much more useful. Because then he could interrogate that incarnation and find out Rose's exact location.  
But then the question caught up to him.  
“What do you mean 'what give the right to find Rose?!' She's my best friend and she's missing!” Ten replied as he started walking down the dock again.  
If the conversation was going to continue, he would need to find somewhere more private. The last thing he needed, was to be thrown into Bedlam or worse burned at the stake if anyone saw him talking to himself.  
“Good,” Nine replied darkly.  
“Hey!” Ten snapped back angrily. “There's no need for that.”  
“You abandoned her,” his predecessor taunted him. “After all she did for you. For us. After all the times she followed you blindly and how did you thank her? You became entranced by another man's whore...A woman who was trained to make men putty in her hands. So just man up already and admit that you left Rose alone to go have a lark.”  
The cold blunt accusation caused the Doctor to stop cold in his tracks.  
“Abandoned? I didn't abandon anyone! Abandoned involves the intention of leaving someone and never returning for them!” His hands clenched and relaxed a few times. His eyebrows furrowed as he continued, “And I haven't abandoned her, because I'm going to find her,” Ten declared.  
“You don't deserve to find her!” Nine roared. “Not after everything you've done to her. Especially with all the recent times you've been giving her the cold shoulder before you got yourself into this mess.”  
The current Doctor suddenly found himself at a loss for words as his previous incarnation continued, “You didn't even notice that Rose had been kidnapped until it was too late to stop it.”  
Ten found himself suddenly very confused. “Kidnapped? How did he know about the werewolf?” He thought to himself. Had to be the werewolf his previous self was alluding to...Right?  
“I never said anything about a werewolf,” Nine said darkly.  
His predecessor's reply only made him more confused. If he wasn't talking about the werewolf and Queen Victoria, then what was this all about?  
“For the love of...Just how thick have I become?! You can't seriously have forgotten? Does Rose really mean so little to you that you forget when Rickey the Idiot shouted the answer out to you?” Nine suddenly exploded, his short patience no more.  
“Oi!” Ten complained.  
“Well stop arguing with yourself and THINK!” Nine commanded.  
Think! That was his predecessor's great advice? Think?! All he ever does is think, if anything he thinks too much sometimes. In truth he thinks about anything and everything – from how best to rewire the TARDIS' mainframe to the implosion of a star a billion light years away. He even thought about trivial things, like, like football for example or all the ways in which the film Transformers was more accurate than humans realised. Okay, so that one wasn't so trivial, point still stands though, he thinks about everything.  
So, just what was he supposed to be thinking about right now?  
He could practically feel his former self rolling his eyes in annoyance and anger. “Oh, for pity sake, must I do everything?” Nine huffed.  
“You, you just leave us behind...” Rose's voice suddenly echoed in the Doctor's mind.  
The words she said to him outside the chip shop. Why would those suddenly come rushing back”  
“Is that what you're gonna do to me?” Her voice echoed again.  
“No! Not to you.” the Doctor mumbled to himself aloud as he recalled his reply.  
A reply he gave so quickly, and with so much passion. How could she think that he would ever leave her behind?  
“But you did.” His mind tormented him again, but it wasn't Nine's voice this time.  
It was his own.  
And just like that, the Doctor felt like he had been sucker punched in his gut. His hand flew to his mouth as he was finally beginning to understand the full seriousness of his actions, or rather lack thereof. What was worse, the Doctor was so focused on finding Rose that he had forgotten just how she came to be stuck in the past in first place. Dear Rassolin he hadn't even noticed!  
He had left Rose Tyler behind. No, didn't leave her behind because she hadn't even been on the ship too leave behind. She'd been in Versailles though,Rose Tyler had been right in front of him and in terrible danger and he hadn't even noticed. He had broken the most important promise made to her. And so soon after making that promise!  
Worse still it took Mickey to say something before he knew any of it. As the magnitude of his betrayal to Rose hit him full force, the Doctor fell back against the warehouse wall that he hadn't even realized he was leaning against. When did he reach this warehouse? He wondered briefly before realizing that it didn't matter.  
Nothing mattered now, because his main priority was finding the woman he lo...  
The Doctor felt his hearts stop. No, that couldn't be right. Could it?  
“Give the man a medal, he's finally figured it out!” His Ninth self couldn't help but taunt.  
The Doctor ignored his predecessor and realised the truth that he had been denying for so long as his hearts screamed the truth at him.  
He, the Doctor, was in love with Rose Tyler.


End file.
